Written Answers Monday 24 August 2009

Scottish Executive

Alcohol and Substance Misuse

Gavin Brown (Lothians) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what proportion of deaths in the Lothians region were attributable to (a) alcohol and (b) other substance misuse in the last 12 months, broken down by local authority area.

Nicola Sturgeon: Statistics for alcohol-related deaths for each local authority area are published each year by the General Register Office for Scotland (GROS). The figures and their definition can be found on the GROS website:

  http://www.gro-scotland.gov.uk/statistics/deaths/alcohol-related-deaths/index.html.

  There is no standard definition of "other substance misuse" deaths. Statistics for drug-related deaths for each local authority area are published each year by GROS:

  http://www.gro-scotland.gov.uk/statistics/publications-and-data/drug-related-deaths/index.html.

  The total number of deaths in each local authority area is published in Table 2 of Appendix 1 of "Scotland’s Population: the Registrar General’s Annual Review of Demographic Trends":

  http://www.gro-scotland.gov.uk/statistics/publications-and-data/annual-report-publications/index.html.

  Because the figures required to calculate the requested percentages are taken from three separate publicly-available sources, the answer brings them together in the following table.

  Lothian Deaths Registered in Scotland in 2008

  

 
Lothian
Edinburgh
East Lothian
Midlothian
West Lothian


Total deaths
7,547
4,291
1,014
793
1,449


Alcohol-related deaths
171
102
18
14
37


Percentage of all deaths
2.30%
2.40%
1.80%
1.80%
2.60%


Drug-related deaths
94
66
7
6
15


Percentage of all deaths
1.20%
1.50%
0.70%
0.80%
1.00%



  Source: General Registry Office Scotland.

Apprenticeships

Irene Oldfather (Cunninghame South) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many apprenticeship placements have been secured in North Ayrshire as a result of the Adopt an Apprentice scheme.

Fiona Hyslop: Adopt an Apprentice applications have been received from employers covering 24 local authority areas. North Ayrshire is one of the eight areas which has not received an approach as yet.

Asylum Seekers

Bill Butler (Glasgow Anniesland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions ministers have held with the UK Government with regard to local authorities outwith Glasgow entering into contracts with the National Asylum Support Service (NASS) since 17 May 2007, broken down by date and minister.

Nicola Sturgeon: Glasgow City Council are the only local authority in Scotland to take up a contract with the National Asylum Support Service (NASS). The contracts are between local authorities and UK Border Agency (UKBA). No discussions have taken place with Scottish ministers and the UK Government with regard to local authorities outwith Glasgow entering into contracts with UKBA.

  Anne McLaughlin (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive when it last met officials from Dungavel Detention Centre and what issues were discussed.

Nicola Sturgeon: The Scottish Government is opposed to the detention of children and continues to state this both publicly and with the UK Government at both ministerial and official level. Scottish Government officials last visited Dungavel Immigration Removal Centre in January 2009. This was a one off visit for three officials working in asylum policy areas to see the facility and to meet staff.

Bees

Murdo Fraser (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what support it is giving to the honeybee-keeping industry as a result of American foulbrood disease and European foulbrood disease being found in Scotland.

Richard Lochhead: The Scottish Government is providing advice, training, surveillance and diagnostic services to the honeybee-keeping industry. The Scottish Government have also introduced a telephone Bee Helpline and have established a Disease Stakeholder Group which is meeting on a fortnightly basis to discuss control.

  Murdo Fraser (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to stop the spread of American foulbrood disease and European foulbrood disease.

Richard Lochhead: Following diagnosis of notifiable foulbrood disease, disease control action is agreed between Scottish Government bee officers and the beekeeper. In the case of American Foulbrood colony destruction is the only option. For European Foulbrood destruction of severe cases is usual and for milder cases a treatment programme is possible. In the longer term, advice and training in all aspects of integrated pest management and good bee husbandry. This will include training beekeepers in how to improve their management practices to reduce the spread of disease and how to identify symptoms of infection.

  Murdo Fraser (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide funding to the Scottish Agricultural College for additional inspectors of bees.

Richard Lochhead: The Scottish Agricultural College does not provide bee inspectors for the Scottish Government. Bee inspection is carried out by staff of the Scottish Government Rural Payments and Inspections Directorate.

Dairy Industry

John Scott (Ayr) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) relating to the issues identified in the European Commission report, Dairy market situation 2009 , published in July 2009.

Richard Lochhead: The Scottish Government is in regular contact with Defra, and the other Rural Affairs Departments, to consider the UK response to the European Commission’s report on the Dairy industry.

  John Scott (Ayr) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with the dairy sector relating to the issues identified in the European Commission report, Dairy market situation 2009, published in July 2009.

Richard Lochhead: The Scottish Government is in regular contact with the Scottish dairy sector on a range of issues including the European Commission dairy market report.

  John Scott (Ayr) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it intends to take to resolve the issues relating to the dairy sector identified in the European Commission report, Dairy market situation 2009, published in July 2009.

Richard Lochhead: The Scottish Government is taking proactive steps on a range of issues to address the issues highlighted in the European Commission’s Dairy market report.

Dentistry

Marlyn Glen (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many registered NHS dentists there have been in each year since 2006, broken down by community health partnership

Shona Robison: The number of NHS dentists (head count) who have provided NHS general dental services, broken down by community health partnership for years ending 31 March 2006 onwards is shown in the following table.

  

Community Health Partnership
2006
2007
2008
2009


Scotland
2,301
2,474
2,576
2,739


Aberdeen City Community Health Partnership
98
105
133
137


Aberdeenshire Community Health Partnership
77
87
76
90


Angus Community Health Partnership
59
57
59
69


Argyll and Bute Community Health Partnership
53
50
56
56


Clackmannanshire Community Health Partnership
22
21
20
20


Dumfries and Galloway Community Health Partnership
46
62
70
71


Dundee Community Health Partnership
93
102
95
111


Dunfermline and West Fife Community Health Partnership
60
59
63
73


East Ayrshire Community Health Partnership
42
44
51
63


East Dunbartonshire Community Health Partnership
71
69
65
70


East Glasgow Community Health and Care Partnership
56
57
64
65


East Lothian Community Health Partnership
45
47
55
56


East Renfrewshire Community Health and Care Partnership
52
54
52
52


Edinburgh Community Health Partnership
258
274
289
310


Falkirk Community Health Partnership
56
70
82
98


Glenrothes and North East Fife Community Health Partnership
39
40
44
49


Inverclyde Community Health Partnership
35
40
46
43


Kirkcaldy and Levenmouth Community Health Partnership
73
81
79
85


Mid Highland Community Health Partnership
44
50
25
40


Midlothian Community Health Partnership
26
31
29
30


Moray Community Health and Social Care Partnership
26
29
28
37


North Ayrshire Community Health Partnership
58
54
55
65


North Glasgow Community Health and Care Partnership
36
33
42
41


North Highland Community Health Partnership
18
26
15
14


North Lanarkshire Community Health Partnership
129
134
143
159


Orkney Community Health Partnership
11
16
13
17


Perth and Kinross Community Health Partnership
85
87
90
105


Renfrewshire Community Health Partnership
97
99
96
109


Scottish Borders Community Health and Care Partnership
48
52
52
55


Shetland Community Health Partnership
15
20
18
25


South Ayrshire Community Health Partnership
55
66
74
65


South East Glasgow Community Health and Care Partnership
72
76
89
90


South East Highland Community Health Partnership
64
74
89
98


South Lanarkshire Community Health Partnership
138
136
155
159


South West Glasgow Community Health and Care Partnership
51
54
61
60


Stirling Community Health Partnership
49
37
39
48


West Dunbartonshire Community Health Partnership
37
40
41
44


West Glasgow Community Health and Care Partnership
128
140
150
156


West Lothian Community Health and Care Partnership
69
72
91
98


Western Isles Community Health Partnership
12
13
15
18



  Source: MIDAS (Management Information and Dental Accounting System).

  Notes:

  1. This data relates to the number of dentists in post, not the whole-time equivalent figure, as information on the working hours of each dentist is not collected.

  2. This data includes the number of NHS non-salaried and salaried principals, assistants and vocational dental practitioners, based on the location of the dental practice.

  3. The sum of the number of NHS general dental practitioners in each community health partnership exceeds the number practising in Scotland: an NHS general dental practitioner may enter into more than one arrangement with an NHS board if he/she has more than one practice, or enter into an arrangement with more than one NHS board if he/she practises in more than one NHS board area.

  4. Clinical and management information on salaried general dental services is now partly being recorded on a new computer system (R4) that transmits data to Practitioner Services Division as if from a central location. Although treatment continues to be provided from a large number of locations, these arrangements for recording information will in some instances suggest that the number of dentists providing salaried NHS general dental services treatment has significantly increased or reduced. The effect of dentists beginning to transmit their data from a central location will be most acutely observed across smaller areas, such as community health partnership.

  Marlyn Glen (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the percentage was of three to five-year olds registered with an NHS dentist in each community health partnership in (a) December 2007, (b) March 2008, (c) June 2008, (d) September 2008, (e) December 2008 and (f) March 2009.

Shona Robison: The information is published on ISD’s website at:

  http://www.isdscotland.org/isd/4680.html.

  Marlyn Glen (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the change was in the number of three to five-year olds registered with an NHS dentist in each community health partnership between December 2007 and March 2009.

Shona Robison: The following table shows the percentage change in the number of three to five-year-olds registered with an NHS dentist, by Community Health Partnership between December 2007 and March 2009.

  

Community Health Partnership
Number of 3-5 Registrations at December 2007
Number of 3-5 Registrations at March 2009
% Change from December 2007 to March 2009


Scotland 
117,258
134,601
14.8%


East Ayrshire Community Health Partnership
2,294
2,656
15.8%


North Ayrshire Community Health Partnership
3,107
3,626
16.7%


South Ayrshire Community Health Partnership
3,094
3,576
15.6%


Scottish Borders Community Health and Care Partnership
2,128
2,423
13.9%


Dumfries and Galloway Community Health Partnership
3,128
3,475
11.1%


Dunfermline and West Fife Community Health Partnership
2,688
3,153
17.3%


Glenrothes and North East Fife Community Health Partnership
2,006
2,347
17.0%


Kirkcaldy and Levenmouth Community Health Partnership
2,692
3,059
13.6%


Clackmannanshire Community Health Partnership
1,097
1,288
17.4%


Falkirk Community Health Partnership
3,682
4,362
18.5%


Stirling Community Health Partnership
2,079
2,175
4.6%


Aberdeen City Community Health Partnership
4,043
5,090
25.9%


Aberdeenshire Community Health Partnership
4,587
4,798
4.6%


Moray Community Health and Social Care Partnership
1,236
1,240
0.3%


East Dunbartonshire Community Health Partnership
2,635
2,833
7.5%


East Glasgow Community Health and Care Partnership
3,010
3,861
28.3%


East Renfrewshire Community Health and Care Partnership
2,533
2,717
3.3%


Inverclyde Community Health Partnership
2,052
2,393
16.6%


North Glasgow Community Health and Care Partnership
1,863
2,277
22.2%


Renfrewshire Community Health Partnership
3,999
4,548
13.7%


South East Glasgow Community Health and Care Partnership
2,958
3,554
20.1%


South West Glasgow Community Health and Care Partnership
2,665
3,197
20.0%


West Dunbartonshire Community Health Partnership
2,133
2,542
19.2%


West Glasgow Community Health and Care Partnership
4,054
4,705
16.1%


Argyll and Bute Community Health Partnership
1,611
1,912
18.7%


Mid Highland Community Health Partnership
1,098
856
-22.0%


North Highland Community Health Partnership
353
222
-37.1%


South East Highland Community Health Partnership
2,969
4,086
37.6%


North Lanarkshire Community Health Partnership
8,105
9,185
13.3%


South Lanarkshire Community Health Partnership
7,386
8,301
12.4%


East Lothian Community Health Partnership
2,322
2,459
5.7%


Midlothian Community Health Partnership
1,758
1,988
13.1%


West Lothian Community Health and Care Partnership
4,880
5,582
14.4%


Orkney Community Health Partnership
279
342
22.6%


Shetland Community Health Partnership
510
657
28.8%


Angus Community Health Partnership
2,337
2,550
9.1%


Dundee Community Health Partnership
3,839
4,243
10.5%


Perth and Kinross Community Health Partnership
3,039
3,206
5.5%


Western Isles Community Health Partnership
399
412
3.3%


Edinburgh Community Health Partnership
10,610
12,448
17.3%



  Source: MIDAS (Management Information and Dental Accounting System).

  Notes:

  1. The Community Health Partnership is based on the postcode of the dental practice.

  2. 2007 Mid-year population estimates are used to calculate the percentage registered and are sourced from the General Register’s Office.

Fair Trade

Bill Butler (Glasgow Anniesland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive when it plans to write to directors of education to ask how local authorities plan to encourage the promotion of fair trade during school year 2009-10.

Adam Ingram: The Schools (Health Promotion and Nutrition) (Scotland) Act 2007 requires local authorities to consider sustainable development guidance when procuring food and drink or catering services for schools. In 2004 guidance was issued to local authorities with advice on various sustainable development objectives including encouraging fair trade. Compliance with the act as a whole is monitored by HM Inspectorate of Education who emailed local authorities last week to ask what progress has been made, in their areas, on the issue of sustainability.

First Minister

Patricia Ferguson (Glasgow Maryhill) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what engagements the First Minister undertook on 8 July 2009.

John Swinney: On 7 July the First Minister undertook a range of parliamentary engagements. He also met with Lord MacFarlane, the Honorary Life President of Diageo, in London. On 8 July the First Minister undertook a range of parliamentary engagements but none as First Minister.

Fisheries

Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how fishing, processing and leisure interests are being consulted during the strategic environmental assessment for offshore wind developments in Scottish territorial waters.

Richard Lochhead: To take forward environmental and marine planning aspects of marine offshore energy developments, the Scottish Government has established a project group – the Marine Energy Spatial Planning Group (MESPG) and a wider stakeholders group - the Marine Strategic Studies Forum (MSSF).

  Both groups will be consulted upon all the project specifications and output reports including those for the offshore wind Strategic Environmental Assessment. The MSSF includes representatives from the fishing, shipping and leisure interests. The Scottish Government will adopt best practice consultation on offshore wind throughout the Strategic Environmental Assessment process.

  Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to S3W-24834 by Richard Lochhead on 25 June 2009, how fishing interests will be consulted during any site-specific environmental impact assessment of potential offshore wind developments in the Solway Firth if an inshore fisheries group has not yet been established.

Richard Lochhead: Site-specific offshore wind energy developments will be subject to Environmental Impact Assessment Regulations and consultation will be taken forward with relevant interests as required by the legislation and in accordance with best practice regardless of whether or not an inshore fisheries group has been established.

  Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to S3W-24834 by Richard Lochhead on 25 June 2009, whether it will ensure that an inshore fisheries group is established for the Solway Firth prior to any site-specific impact assessment being undertaken for offshore wind developments on Crown Estate sites in the Solway Firth.

Richard Lochhead: The Scottish Government is committed to full consultation with relevant interests prior to decisions to licence wind farm developments. An in-shore fisheries group could provide a focal point for local engagement with fishing interests on renewable developments but that is not their main purpose and it is not necessary to establish such a group prior to an impact assessment.

Flood Prevention

Malcolm Chisholm (Edinburgh North and Leith) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will fund the shortfall that has arisen in relation to the Water of Leith Flood Prevention Scheme due to delays outwith the City of Edinburgh Council’s control subsequent to the original funding agreement.

Roseanna Cunningham: From 1 April 2008, specific funding of flood prevention and coast protection schemes was rolled up into the General Capital Grant now distributed to local authorities. In line with the concordat agreement with COSLA, the total amount of funding by the Scottish Government to local authorities, including the former ring-fenced funds for flood and coastal protection, has therefore already been fully allocated. Local authorities must prioritise their own spending plans within the overall level of resources available to them.

Fuel Poverty

Ms Wendy Alexander (Paisley North) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people in Renfrewshire benefited from the Energy Assistance Package between 1 April and 30 July 2009 and to which specific aspect(s) of the package can each be attributed.

Nicola Sturgeon: The number of people and the number of households benefiting from the Energy Assistance Package in Renfrewshire and East Renfrewshire Council areas during the period requested, as notified by the Energy Saving Trust, was 450 and 327 respectively.

  The aspects of the package attributed to applicants are shown in the following table:

  

Aspect
Households Benefiting


Energy Saving Advice
363


Income Maximisation Referral
102


Tariff Check Signposting
134


Stage 3 Referral
115


Stage 4 Referral
45


Total
759



  Note: Some households may benefit from more than one aspect of the package.

Health

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many women suffer from Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome broken down by those aged (a) under 16, (b) 16 to 24, (c) 25 to 34, (d) 35 to 44, (e) 45 to 54, (f) 55 to 64 and (g) 65 and older.

Nicola Sturgeon: This information is not held centrally.

  George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people aged (a) under 16, (b) 16 to 24, (c) 25 to 34, (d) 35 to 44, (e) 45 to 54, (f) 55 to 64, (g) 65 to 74 and (h) 75 and over have medical conditions affected by compact fluorescent or low-energy light bulbs.

Shona Robison: A breakdown of this information is not available. However, it is estimated that up to 2,500 people in Scotland may be affected.

  George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will ensure that incandescent light bulbs will still be available to people with medical conditions affected by the use of compact fluorescent or low-energy light bulbs after 2012.

Shona Robison: Matters of product safety and consumer safety are reserved to Westminster and responses to possible health concerns related to the provisions of the European Framework Directive 2005/32/EC and the related Working document on possible ecodesign requirements for general lighting equipment  are being taken forward by the UK Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on behalf of the UK.

Healthcare Associated Infection

Dr Richard Simpson (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the false positive and false negative rates are for toxin testing for Clostridium difficile.

Nicola Sturgeon: Rates of false-positive and false negative toxin tests are not routinely held or collected in diagnostic laboratories. The calculation of such rates for any type of laboratory test implies comparison with some form of "gold-standard" test which is often not suited to routine diagnostic use. In the case of C.difficile ,  cell culture-based cytotoxicity assay is currently considered the gold standard. However this type of assay is technically difficult and time-consuming to carry out (as it requires that cell cultures are maintained) and has a built-in time delay three days or more before test results are available. As such false-positive and false-negative estimations are usually part of specific evaluation studies to test the effectiveness of different types of assay.

NHS Hospitals

Dr Richard Simpson (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many new or substantially refurbished hospitals have been approved since May 2007 and how many of these will be funded by (a) PPP, (b) the Scottish Futures Trust or (c) another non-directly publicly funded mechanism.

Nicola Sturgeon: The answer is shown in the following table:

  

NHS Board
Hospitals and Substantially Refurbished Hospitals: Outline Business Cases Approved Since May 2007
Hospitals and Substantially Refurbished Hospitals: Full Business Cases Approved Since May 2007
Funded Via: PPP


Ayrshire and Arran
0
0
0


Borders
0
0
0


Dumfries and Galloway
0
0
0


Fife
0
2
2


Forth Valley
0
0
0


Grampian
2
0
0


Greater Glasgow
1
1
0


Highland
0
1
0


Lanarkshire
0
2
0


Lothian
1
1
0


Orkney
0
0
0


Shetland
0
0
0


Tayside
0
0
0


Western Isles
0
0
0


State Hospital
0
1
0


Totals
4
8
2



  

NHS Board
Funded Via: Scottish Futures Trust
Funded Via: Other Non-Directly Publicly Funded Mechanism
Funded via: Public Capital


Ayrshire and Arran
0
0
0


Borders
0
0
0


Dumfries and Galloway
0
0
0


Fife
0
0
0


Forth Valley
0
0
0


Grampian
0
0
2


Greater Glasgow
0
0
2


Highland
0
0
1


Lanarkshire
0
0
2


Lothian
0
0
2


Orkney
0
0
0


Shetland
0
0
0


Tayside
0
0
0


Western Isles
0
 
0


State Hospital
0
0
1


Totals
0
0
10

NHS Staff

Dr Richard Simpson (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) doctors, (b) GPs, (c) hospital consultants, (d) junior doctors, (e) nurses, (f) allied health professionals and (g) hospital pharmacists there are expected to be in 2011.

Nicola Sturgeon: It is the responsibility of NHS boards to determine their future workforce needs to meet service delivery and the health care needs of their population. Future modelling is based upon demand provided by NHS board projections. The most recent data from NHS boards in April 2009 shows that in 2011 there are expected to be (in whole-time equivalent):

  - 58,281 nursing and midwifery staff.

  - 9,498 allied health profession staff.

  - 2,006 hospital pharmacy staff.

  There are no projections available for doctors so far this year. In line with Scottish Government policy to move to a service predominantly delivered by trained doctors and to reduce the reliance on doctors in training for front-line service delivery, NHS boards are currently reviewing the future shape of the medical workforce. Initial estimates are expected during the autumn of 2009. This review is expected to result in a different mix of doctors in training and trained doctors. As a result it is not possible at this stage to provide the numbers expected in 2011 for GPs, consultants, doctors and junior doctors.

National Health Service

Dr Richard Simpson (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many incidents of data loss from the NHS have occurred in each NHS board area in the last two 12-month periods; in how many such instances the data were unencrypted, and whether all such incidents were reported to the Scottish Information Commissioner’s Office.

Nicola Sturgeon: The Scottish Government does not centrally collect details on the number of data losses which may have occurred within the NHS boards. It is the responsibility of individual health boards to report and investigate in line with their own local policies and procedures.

  Dr Richard Simpson (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether every loss of data by the NHS is reported to the Scottish Information Commissioner’s Office.

Nicola Sturgeon: The Information Commissioner encourages organisations to bring serious data breaches to the attention of his office. There is, however no legal obligation on data controllers such as NHS organisations to report breaches of security which result in loss, release or corruption of personal data to the Information Commissioners Office. The extent to which this is done is not information that is held centrally by the Scottish Government.

National Parks

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the visitor numbers have been for (a) Loch Lomond and The Trossachs and (b) Cairngorms National Park in each year since their establishment.

Roseanna Cunningham: The estimated number of visitors to the Cairngorms National Park is shown in the following table:

  

Year
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008


No. Visitors (Millions)
1.420
1.408
1.420
1.459
1.502
1.481



  The Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park Authority do not have year-on-year visitor numbers; however visitor numbers in 2003 were estimated at 2.18 million. The National Park Authority hope to carry out work to ascertain a figure for 2010.

  Estimates for both parks are derived from the STEAM model used throughout the UK tourism sector.

  Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what role it considers National Park Authorities have in managing visitor access to national parks.

Roseanna Cunningham: Both National Park Authorities have a key role in promoting and managing responsible visitor access. One of the statutory aims of the National Parks is to promote understanding and enjoyment of the special qualities of the area by the public. The two National Park Authorities, in their National Park Plans, make it clear that this is a priority.

  Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive when it will report on the strategic review of National Park Authorities.

Roseanna Cunningham: I have signed off the Strategic Review of National Park Authorities. A report setting out the next steps, taking account of the public consultation on the Review recommendations, was published on 19 August. The report is available through the following link http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2009/08/17105408/0 .

National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949

Ross Finnie (West of Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list the sites designated as Sites of Special Scientific Interest under the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949 that were not renotified under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981.

Roseanna Cunningham: Details are as follows:

  

SSSI Name
Local Authority


Aird Torrisdale 
Highland


Ardsheal Peninsula 
Highland


Gleann nan Caorrunn Wood
Stirling


Kentallen 
Highland


Laxford Moors
Highland


Loch Laxford 
Highland


Mallaig Coast
Highland


Newhall Glen 
Midlothian


Portencross Coast 
North Ayrshire


Rudha Cuil-cheanna
Highland


Strontian River
Highland


Tweed River1
Scottish Borders


Windy Gowl / Carlops Dean
Scottish Borders



  Note: 1. The main stem and major tributaries of the Tweed River SSSI were renotified under the 1981 Act as River Tweed SSSI on 02-03-2001. The 1949 act notification has been retained over the remaining tributaries.

  Ross Finnie (West of Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether Scottish Planning Policy relating to Sites of Special Scientific Interest applies to sites notified under the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949 but not subsequently renotified.

Roseanna Cunningham: References to Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Scottish Planning Policy cover all such sites including those notified under the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949 and those notified under subsequent legislation.

Nutrition

Dr Richard Simpson (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to make use of the EU School Fruit Scheme allocation for 2009-10.

Adam Ingram: Following consultation with local authorities, the majority of whom did not want to participate without further detail, we plan to delay the uptake of the EU school fruit scheme allocation until 2010-11.

  We are actively engaging with the EU to obtain further details of the scheme to ensure that we gain best value for schools in Scotland. Once we have this detail, we will engage with COSLA and local authorities to re-consider the scheme’s merits. We expect to have had these discussions by early in the new year.

Parliamentary Questions

Patricia Ferguson (Glasgow Maryhill) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive when it will provide a substantive response to question S3W-25698 which was due for answer on 6 August 2009.

John Swinney: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-25698 on 24 August 2009. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/Business/PQA/Default.aspx .

Renewable Energy

Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive when it expects the strategic environmental assessment for offshore wind developments in Scottish territorial waters to be complete.

Richard Lochhead: The Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) of the plan for offshore wind developments in Scottish territorial waters is currently being taken forward with a target delivery date for the report of early 2010.

Rural Development

Murdo Fraser (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many visitors it expects will attend the Rural Gathering, which will take place in Perth on 25 September 2009.

Murdo Fraser (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will outline its plans for the Rural Gathering, which will take place in Perth on 25 September 2009.

Roseanna Cunningham: The Rural Gathering will take place at Perth Racecourse, by Perth, on 25 September 2009. A major rural networking event, it is an opportunity to promote rural development through bringing together stakeholders from across rural Scotland to share good ideas and practices and learn from domestic and international examples.

  The event will include informal meetings with ministers and keynote speeches from the Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs, Richard Lochhead; Professor David Freshwater, Kentucky University, and Ute Vieting, Director, LEADER, Hesselberg, Germany. Problem solving workshops which will help rural stakeholders tackle rural development in their areas are also planned together with presentations of international and local case studies. The Gathering will be chaired by Ken Rundle of the Scottish Agricultural College.

  It is expected that there will be at least 200 grass roots stakeholders attending the Rural Gathering. The audience has been build up from nominations by the LEADER Local Action Groups, The Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations and applications to the Scottish National Rural Network website.